The report, which analyzed data from 2006 to 2010, said that cancer is the most deadly childhood disease and is the No. 2 killer of kids after accidents.

There are about 905 new childhood cancer cases each year. Leukemias are the most common, followed by brain cancer and neuroblastomas. Each year about 129 of those kids die, although the mortality rate is declining.

“For a large chunk of kids, there’s a 90 per cent survival rate at the end of it. But the treatment is long, and quite arduous,” said Jason Pole, a scientist with the Pediatric Group of Oncology of Ontario. Those can be health-based risks such as stunted development, joint issues or heart problems. It can also be stresses on the family from the treatment, and especially for Windsorites, the travel to and from a hospital that offers kids cancer care.

For Ali Hamieh, the diagnosis was acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with high-risk complications.

A diagnosis, and then chaos. The family picked up and moved into London’s Ronald McDonald house, holing themselves in the room as Ali started an aggressive chemotherapy program. His mom dropped out of nursing school to focus on his treatment.

The chemotherapy left Ali fighting high fevers that sent him to hospital in Windsor even when he was back home between treatments. He couldn’t be home schooled. The family relied on transportation from the Canadian Cancer Society to get to and from London every few weeks.

“It was a really tough year,” said Ali’s mom, Maissa Hamieh. She said his doctor in London helped them through it. The lesson for other parents, she said, is to trust your instincts. If you think something is wrong, find out.

The report also found boys are more likely to get cancer than girls.

Pole said no one really knows why this is the case, but the data is consistent around the world: boys are diagnosed with cancer at a higher rate than girls.

He said some researchers think the x chromosome can act as a cancer suppressant. Since women have two and men have one, they may be more susceptible.

Younger children are twice as likely to get cancer, according to the report.

It said four-year-olds and younger are twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer as kids between five and 15.

Pole said that’s because the most common type of cancer among children is leukemia, which tends to occur in younger kids. More than a third of all childhood cancers are leukemia.

Other types of cancer, such as lymphomas, are more common among older kids.

Luca Aversa was just four months old when he was diagnosed with a neuroblastoma — a solid tumour in his abdomen. It took many surgeries to get the mass out.

“I’m glad that fewer kids are dying,” said Luca’s mother Kate Aversa. “I hate to see that more kids are diagnosed.”

She said Luca, now 9, had to have his gallbladder removed, along with surgeries where tumours had settled along his spine, his liver, his adrenal gland. There was damage to his heart.

“We don’t know what is going to happen,” she said, but added that more research needs to be done into childhood cancers. “These kids need a chance at their life.”

It was childhood cancer awareness day at the Windsor Regional Hospital on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. A media conference was held to highlight the day. Dereck Lau, 11, who successfully battled a brain tumour spoke at the event to raise awareness for the cause. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)Jason Kryk /
Windsor Star

Brain tumours are the most deadly type of cancer for kids, according to the report.

On average 129 children 15 and under die from central nervous system tumours — primarily cancer in the brain.

“Brain tumours are notoriously difficult to treat,” Pole said. “Sometimes the treatment can be very devastating for a growing child.”

Pole said it’s not a matter of late diagnosis — Ontario has good stats on how quickly brain tumours are identified and diagnosed.

Dereck Lau, now 11, was one of those patients. He had medulloblastoma — a fast-growing tumour in the back of his brain.

Three weeks ago, he got to swing a big mallet to whack a hospital gong: a symbol that his chemotherapy treatment was finally over. But with cancer, said his mom, nothing is ever really over.

“Luckily he was a little bit older,” Rory Lau said. “A lot of kids that have the radiation younger, their brains are still developing so they have a lot more damage to their functions.”

Still, Dereck will be struggling with the long-term effects of treatment for decades.

Days after his last treatment, a serious infection landed him back in the hospital. The port that gives doctors direct access to his heart through his blood system needs to come out — otherwise it could lead to more infections.

He has to go for MRIs every three months. He needs physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles that have weakened and tendons that have shortened. He struggles to walk.

“When the treatment is done, it’s not over,” Lau said. “Is it going to come back? What are the side-effects? Some of them could be 10, 15, 20 years out.

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